Necessities

Necessities are goods and services considered essential for basic human survival, health, and functioning within a society. The exact list varies by geography and culture, but commonly includes food and clean water, shelter and clothing, healthcare, sanitation, and energy for heating and cooking. Access to information and transportation is sometimes viewed as a social necessity in modern economies. What counts as a necessity is shaped by income, prices, public policy, and individual circumstances.

In economics, necessities are contrasted with luxuries: items whose demand is less responsive to income changes and whose share of expenditure tends to remain relatively stable as income grows. Engel's law notes that as income increases, households spend a smaller proportion on necessities. The concept also appears in welfare and legal contexts to help define minimum standards of living or the obligation to provide basic sustenance, such as the historical doctrine of necessaries, which bound guardians or spouses to supply essential support.

Policy and societal implications focus on ensuring access to necessities through safety nets, subsidies, and public provisioning of essential services such as water, sanitation, housing, healthcare, and energy. Vulnerable populations and crises can threaten access, prompting efforts to protect supply, affordability, and resilience. As societies evolve, debates about digital connectivity and climate resilience increasingly treat certain capabilities and services as contemporary necessities.